If you can believe it, Nick Suzuki is entering his sixth NHL season. At age 25, he’s the captain of one of the greatest teams in pro sports history, leading a new wave of Montreal Canadiens and just entering his prime.
At the recent NHL and NHLPA Player Media Tour two weeks ago in Las Vegas, Suzuki praised Canadiens GM Kent Hughes and VP of hockey operations Jeff Gorton for making the most of their players, whether as prospects, big additions or reclamation projects.
“Kent and ‘Gort’ are finding players that maybe don’t look as good in other teams, and they have a feeling that they can unlock something,” Suzuki told THN.com’s Michael Traikos before praising his coach, Martin St-Louis. “The players in the group that we have, I think everyone can just be themselves and just play free, and not really worry about the coaches being on them for making mistakes.
“For a young team, that’s going to go away. But your accountability for making the right play and not making mistakes is going to change over time. But we were allowed to experiment with different stuff, and mistakes weren’t the end of the world the last couple of years.”
Suzuki reserved particular praise for St-Louis, Montreal’s coach for the past two-and-a-half years. St-Louis’ ability to infuse his players with confidence is what many see as his secret to success thus far with the Habs. And for Suzuki, who set career highs last season with 33 goals and 44 assists for 77 points, it’s a job much appreciated.
“He’s done that for a lot of guys,” Suzuki said of St-Louis improving his players. “Kind of the biggest thing he says is he’s going to teach the four guys that don’t have the puck so the guy with the puck is able to make better reads and better decisions – putting the four other guys in better spots, being able to see the ice better for what the puck carrier is going through.
“He’s taught a lot of guys and helped me for sure. He sees the games at a different speed and probably most, since he was in every position out there.”
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The individual results have started to show for some of Montreal’s youngest players. Cole Caufield rebounded from an injury-shortened season to a career-high 65 points last year. Juraj Slafkovsky also had his 2022-23 rookie campaign affected by injury, with 10 points in 39 games, but he jumped up to 50 points in 82 games last season.
Even veteran defenseman Mike Matheson has seen the most ice time in his career with the Canadiens, and he’s set career highs in points in consecutive seasons as a result. He had 34 points in just 48 games in 2022-23, and he nearly doubled that last season with 62 points in 82 games. Whether the 30-year-old is considered a reclamation project or not, he’s found another level to his game with the Canadiens.
Suzuki’s comments on the coaching staff and management should bode well for Patrik Laine as well. He was nearly a point-per-game with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2021-22 and 2022-23, but he only played 18 games last season as he dealt with injuries and prioritized his mental health. Learning from St-Louis and having room to try different moves on the ice could put Laine in prime position for a bounce-back season.
MONTREAL LOVES LAINE 🗣️
The @CanadiensMTL crowd really gave Patrik Laine a warm welcome. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/3ViIj62dT4
— NHL (@NHL) September 24, 2024
Continually improving as individual players while working together on the team chemistry could lead to the Canadiens slowly but surely transitioning out of their rebuild over the next few seasons. That should bring comfort to Habs fans who have waited for better results in the standings since making the Stanley Cup final in 2021.
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News Summary:
- Canadiens' Nick Suzuki Praises Coach And Management For Unlocking Their Players' Skills
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.